Expanding the Central American Lineup – Honduras

October 4, 2017

Andros Mitri, the co-founder of Cima Coffees, has an impressive commitment to the producers and the quality of the coffee they produce. Andros, his partner Yair Keidar (who runs the European side of sales), and Domingo Rosales (who runs cupping and grading at origin) are what make up the Cima team – a very small but effective group for being less than five years old. Cima’s commitment is centered on increasing the quality of each bean on each farm, year after year.

In the far western region of Honduras, a small city of about ten thousand, La Labor, serves as the rendezvous point for Finca La Guadalupe, owned and run by Selin Recinos Jr. Selin’s farm was started some 40 years ago by his father, Selin Recinos Sr. From the very first time his coffee was cupped here at Tiny Footprint Coffee, it has stood out from the rest with a balanced acidity that leads to a clean and smooth mouthfeel.

Slowly but surely, through two generations of hard work, and dedication the small plot they started with has grown and is now part of a legacy that spans four families all descended from Selin Sr. & his wife, Petrona. After Selin Sr.’s passing, Selin Jr. took over the family farm and now looks after his sister’s land as well as his own. His wife, Blanca, is a cupper and works with him to continue the legacy of quality and sustainability started in La Labor so long ago. Since meeting Andros and connecting with Cima Coffee, Selin Jr. has helped orchestrate the direct trade of his coffee. Together, Andros and Selin Jr. are working toward improving the traceability of highly sought coffee varieties while also consulting on a variety of projects, such as the construction of a wet mill in La Labor.

In 2003 Selin Jr. participated in the first coffee competition, a precursor to the Cup of Excellence, and won 4th place. This year, he entered his coffee in COCAFELOL’s annual competition that takes the best coffee from the Ocotepeque region in Honduras and he won 2nd place.

Beyond just growing quality coffee, Selin Jr. also demonstrates a strong commitment to coffee in more sustainable ways. He tries to minimize water use, protect the wildlife on his farms and continues to plant trees on his land. In 2017 alone, he planted 5,000 trees that will provide shade for future coffee growing areas.